Exercise during a 3-min deco reduces bubbles

[Paulicarp]

According to the study cited below, exercising during a deco stop reduces bubbles. Does anyone have experience with any techniques using this principle?


Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005 Aug;37(8):1319-23.

PURPOSE: Decompression sickness is initiated by the formation of gas bubbles in tissue and blood if the divers return to surface pressure too fast. The effect of exercise before, during, and after dive on bubble formation is still controversial. We have reported recently that strenuous aerobic exercise 24 h before simulated dive ameliorates venous bubble formation. The objective of this field study was to evaluate whether mild, continuous exercise during decompression has a similar impact. METHODS: Ten healthy, military male divers performed an open-sea field dive to 30 m of sea water breathing air, remaining at pressure for 30 min. During the bottom and decompression the subjects performed fin underwater swimming at about 30% of maximal oxygen uptake. Each diver underwent two randomly assigned dives, one with and one without exercise during the 3-min decompression period. Monitoring of venous gas emboli was performed in the right heart with ultrasonic scanner every 20 min for 60 min after reaching surface pressure in supine rest and during forced two-cough procedure. RESULTS: The study demonstrates that a mild, continuous exercise during decompression significantly reduced the average number of bubbles in the pulmonary artery from 0.9 +/- 0.8 to 0.3 +/- 0.5 bubbles per square centimeter in supine rest, as well as during two-cough procedure, which decreased from 4.6 +/- 4.5 to 0.9 +/- 0.9 bubbles per square centimeter. No symptoms of decompression sickness were observed in any subject. CONCLUSION: These results, obtained in the field conditions, indicate that a mild, underwater swimming during a 3-min decompression period reduces postdive gas bubbles formation.

[Pez7378]

According to the study cited below, exercising during a deco stop reduces bubbles. Does anyone have experience with any techniques using this principle?

Yes, I generally swim around during my 3 minute "deco" stop, and I haven't been bent yet.

[Jenbowes]

According to the study cited below, exercising during a deco stop reduces bubbles. Does anyone have experience with any techniques using this principle?

Yes, I generally swim around during my 3 minute "deco" stop, and I haven't been bent yet.

LOL

that's some SOLID research, Pez!

[Zen Diver]

Things to consider:

Sample size: VERY small, only 10 people

"Healthy, military male divers": may not translate to female divers of any fitness level, people not in the peak of physical conditioning, or older folks (generally military divers are younger).

Dives were 30m for 30 mins: limited profiles? What about longer dives?

"No symptoms of decompression sickness were observed in any subject." Maybe because they were young, military, male divers in the peak of physical conditioning? They would have excellent cardiovascular health and thus be able to offgas much more efficiently to begin with.

Interesting reading, but not enough to warrant a major shift in practice, for me, at this point.

-Valerie

[airsix]

CONCLUSION: These results, obtained in the field conditions, indicate that a mild, underwater swimming during a 3-min decompression period reduces postdive gas bubbles formation.

I think maybe that falls more under the category of "promoting circulation" than it does "exercise".
-Ben

[Joshua Smith]

I think I'll just keep on doing what I do for decompression.

Sample size: Me.

Success rate: 100%. (knock on wood)

[LCF]

I'd have to check the Rubicon site, but I don't think this is the only study to show this result.

It makes an attractive, intuitive sense . . . Gentle movement is going to promote better circulation to the extremities, and as long as it isn't vigorous enough to make the forces of cavitation or whatever causes bubble nucleation predominate, it should result in faster gas removal from the tissues, and therefore less drive to form or enlarge bubbles.

Which is another reason why decoing up a wall is better than decoing up a line in murky, green water, as though anyone needed another reason

[CaptnJack]

1) That was a deco dive by my tables
2) The deco was done on air backgas
3) They didn't do enough deco time
4) They tried to illustrate fewer post-dive bubbles with exercise

I'm not diving air, not doing backgas deco, doing more time, not exercising, and not getting Doppler checked afterwards to see if exercise fixed all the previous issues or not Diving 32% that wouldn't have been a deco dive, doing an appropriate amount of deco time may have equalized the 2 groups, the differences my have been due to core temperature and unrelated to exercise (except generating heat) for instance.

[lamont]

"Healthy, military male divers": may not translate to female divers of any fitness level, people not in the peak of physical conditioning, or older folks (generally military divers are younger).

...or may not translate to people not sobering up from the night before...

[CaptnJack]

"Healthy, military male divers": may not translate to female divers of any fitness level, people not in the peak of physical conditioning, or older folks (generally military divers are younger).

...or may not translate to people not sobering up from the night before...

Every Friday is Seafair Friday...

[Joshua Smith]

"Healthy, military male divers": may not translate to female divers of any fitness level, people not in the peak of physical conditioning, or older folks (generally military divers are younger).

...or may not translate to people not sobering up from the night before...

Yeah. Healthy, military male divers never drink. At bars. Or chase women.

[RDW]

Josh blatantly said: "Yeah. Healthy, military male divers never drink. At bars. Or chase women."

Hey Josh!
Are you saying that "Chasing Women" is a causitive factor for DCS Illness?
OK...This sounds like grounds for a research grant.
(uh? What happens when they chase back?)

[Joshua Smith]

Josh blatantly said: "Yeah. Healthy, military male divers never drink. At bars. Or chase women."

Hey Josh!
Are you saying that "Chasing Women" is a causitive factor for DCS Illness?
OK...This sounds like grounds for a research grant.
(uh? What happens when they chase back?)

I'm just saying that further research is necessary before drawing any conclusions. We clearly need a large grant in order to continue our studies to increase knowledge in this important area.